Key debate in the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee: Chair Kyuchyuk and EU Commissioner for democracy discuss rule of law

A key debate on the rule of law took place in the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs between its Chair, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, EU Commissioner Michael McGrath, responsible for Democracy, Justice, and the Rule of Law, and Members of the European Parliament.

Chair Kyuchyuk emphasized that the European Parliament welcomes the inclusion of specific recommendations for Member States, as well as the qualitative assessment now being carried out on the progress made in implementing previous recommendations. He also raised a question to Commissioner McGrath regarding the Rule of Law Report and its link to EU budget funding:

“How will the Commission monitor implementation to ensure that the recommendations in the Rule of Law Reports are actually followed through?”

Commissioner McGrath stressed that dialogue is always the EU’s first approach, but it must lead to concrete results. In critical situations where the rule of law is under threat, the Commission also has other tools at its disposal.

“The Commission has clear instruments in this respect, and all available tools will be used to strengthen the link between the recommendations in the annual Rule of Law Report and the allocation of EU funds,” said the Commissioner.

He further noted that he and Commissioner Piotr Serafin, responsible for the budget, have been tasked with developing a strong connection between rule of law mechanisms and EU financing, expressing his readiness to work actively with the European Parliament.

McGrath also stated that during his mandate, he will hold at least two stakeholder dialogues to gain first-hand insights into the situation in Member States. He welcomed the idea of reporting violations related to EU values, which could then be reflected in the annual Rule of Law Reports.

Тази публикация е достъпна и на следните езици: Bulgarian